Page 89 of Stuck with Mr. Grump

“Okay,” I tell him, my hand moving to open the door.

“Wait,” he says, stopping me. “Come here.”

He grabs my shoulder, leaning sideways and pulling me into his chest. I exhale.

“I couldn’t let you go without giving you at least one hug,” he murmurs, running a hand through my hair.

A part of me wants to climb into his lap and never let go.

“I missed you, Sterling,” I breathe, gripping his arm and trying hard to hold back tears.

“Missed you too, angel. So much.”

He eventually lets me go and I step out of the car, waving as he drives off. Once he’s gone, my expression crumples. He’s so happy now. How’s he going to feel when he finds out the truth?With a heavy heart, I head into the building, placing a card against the elevator panel to gain access to the penthouse.

I walk into the apartment to the sound of my baby laughing. The sound manages to melt my worries away. I walk in the direction of her laughter to see her and her babysitter seated on the floor. My little girl’s wiggling one of her toys, which creates a rattling sound she seems to love.

Her babysitter, Kim is smiling as she watches her. She’s a woman in her mid-thirties that’s been helping me out with my daughter for a couple of months, ever since I started working. She’s efficient, kind, and my baby seems to love her.

“Hey, Kim. How was today?” I ask, taking off my jacket and placing it on the back of the couch.

“Pretty good,” she replies, getting to her feet. “She was an angel as always.”

I smile, thinking about her dad and how he’s always calling me angel.

“Thanks. I can take it from here,” I tell her.

Kim leaves and then it’s just me and my daughter. I lift her from the floor, placing her on my lap as I settle on the couch.

“Hey, honey. Did you have dinner?”

She giggles, her big green eyes just like her dad’s sparkling. She babbles a couple of incomprehensible words that I listen to intently.

“I saw your daddy today. He looked amazing. I didn’t realize how much I missed him until now,” I tell her.

Her eyes are focused on me like she can really understand what I’m saying.

“Do you want to meet your daddy?”

My daughter blinks.

“He’ll love you. I know in my heart that he will. I’m just scared that he’s going to hate me for hiding you for so long,” I tell her tearfully. “I don’t want him to hate me.”

She lifts her adorable small hand, trying to rest it against my cheek. The touch is comforting.

“I can’t keep him away from you anymore, though. You deserve to know your daddy. Just give me a couple of days. I’ll tell him, I promise. I just want a few days to be happy with him.”

“Mama,” she says with some effort.

That’s the only word she’s been able to say. I cried a bucket the first day I heard it, a couple weeks ago. My smart, perfect little girl.

“Should we watch a movie or do you want me to read to you? I think a movie would be nice. You fall asleep faster when you’re looking at the pictures. How aboutFrozen?”

She seems to like that idea so I turn on the TV, playing the movie. She’s out like a light in about twenty minutes but I don’t move, relishing the weight of her in my arms.

My daughter’s the most precious thing in the world to me. I’d do anything to protect her.

Carson gets home about two hours after me. I wrinkle my nose when I smell the alcohol wafting off him. He doesn’t seem too drunk, though.

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